Conformationally rigid aromatic amino acids as potential building blocks for abiotic foldamers

This communication describes the development of conformationally constrained unnatural aromatic amino acids, constructed on rigid backbone wherein the carboxyl and amino groups project in two dimensions (planes) on the aromatic framework. Such a feature offers the possibility of design and development of conformationally ordered synthetic oligomers with intriguing structural architectures distinct from those classically observed. Furthermore, such amino acids will have the potential to extend the conformational space available for foldamer design with diverse backbone conformation and structural architectures.     

Approximate analytical solutions of a class of boundary layer equations over nonlinear stretching surface

Third order nonlinear ordinary differential equations, subject to appropriate boundary conditions arising in fluid dynamics, are solved using three different methods viz., the Dirichlet series, method of stretching of variables, and asymptotic function method. Similarity transformations are used to convert the governing partial differential equations into nonlinear ordinary differential equations. The numerical results obtained from the above methods for various problems are given in terms of skin friction. Our study revealed that the results obtained from these methods agree well with those of direct numerical simulation of ordinary differential equations. Also, these methods have advantages over pure numerical methods in obtaining derived quantities such as velocity profile accurately for various values of the parameters at a stretch.     

Selective synthesis of strained [7]cycloparaphenylene: an orange-emitting fluorophore

[n]Cycloparaphenylenes, which are short fragments of carbon nanotubes, have unique size-dependent optical properties. In this communication, we describe the first synthesis of [7]cycloparaphenylene ([7]CPP), the smallest cycloparaphenylene prepared to date. In order to access this structure, we have developed a synthetic route that capitalizes on successive orthogonal Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reactions. [7]CPP has 83 kcal/mol of strain energy and an orange emission at 592 nm.     

Chitosan nanoparticles of 5-fluorouracil for ophthalmic delivery: characterization, in-vitro and in-vivo study

The aim of this investigation was to develop 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) loaded chitosan nanoparticles (CH-DNPs) for ophthalmic delivery. CH-DNPs were fabricated by ionotropic gelation mechanism using chitosan (CH) and a polyanion (TPP). The nanoparticles were smooth and spherical, confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM). CH/TPP mass ratio and TPP significantly changed the particles size morphology and encapsulation efficiency. The nanoparticles size ranged from approximately 114 to 192 nm and had a positive zeta potential (30±4 mV). The encapsulation efficiency, loading capacity and recovery of DNPs were 8.12-34.32%, 3.14-15.24% and 24.22 to 67% respectively. Physical characterization was done by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). No interaction was observed in between drug and polymer and crystallinity of drug was not changed in drug loaded nanoparticles. In-vitro release study of DNPs showed diffusion controlled release. Bioavailability study of batch CS9 was studied in rabbit eye and compare to 5-FU solution. 5-FU level was significantly higher in aqueous humor of rabbit eye. Ocular tolerance was studied in the eye of New Zealand rabbits and tested formulation was non-irritant with no sign of inflammation.     

High-pressure study of lithium azide from density-functional calculations

The structural, electronic, optical, and vibrational properties of LiN(3) under high pressure have been studied using plane wave pseudopotentials within the generalized gradient approximation for the exchange and correlation functional. The calculated lattice parameters agree quite well with experiments. The calculated bulk modulus value is found to be 23.23 GPa, which is in good agreement with the experimental value of 20.5 GPa. Our calculations reproduce well the trends in high-pressure behavior of the structural parameters. The present results show that the compressibility of LiN(3) crystal is anisotropic and the crystallographic b-axis is more compressible when compared to a- and c-axes, which is also consistent with experiment. Elastic constants are predicted, which still awaits experimental confirmation. The computed elastic constants clearly show that LiN(3) is a mechanically stable system and the calculated elastic constants follow the order C(33) > C(11) > C(22), implying that the LiN(3) lattice is stiffer along the c-axis and relatively weaker along the b-axis. Under the application of pressure the magnitude of the electronic band gap value decreases, indicating that the system has the tendency to become semiconductor at high pressures. The optical properties such as refractive index, absorption spectra, and photoconductivity along the three crystallographic directions have been calculated at ambient as well as at high pressures. The calculated refractive index shows that the system is optically anisotropic and the anisotropy increases with an increase in pressure. The observed peaks in the absorption and photoconductivity spectra are found to shift toward the higher energy region as pressure increases, which implies that in LiN(3) decomposition is favored under pressure with the action of light. The vibrational frequencies for the internal and lattice modes of LiN(3) at ambient conditions as well as at high pressures are calculated from which we predict that the response of the lattice modes toward pressure is relatively high when compared to the internal modes of the azide ion.     

On/off luminescence vapochromic selective sensing of benzene and its methylated derivatives by a trinuclear silver(I) pyrazolate sensor

{[3,5-(CF(3))(2)Pz]Ag}(3) (1) films exhibit selective/reversible sensing of small-organic-molecule (SAM) vapors, which readily switch-on bright-green (benzene or toluene) or bright-blue (mesitylene) luminescence that switches-off upon vapor removal. Vapors of electron-deficient SAMs or non-aromatic solvents did not attain luminescence switching and were not adsorbed.     

Spectral studies on Ag8+ ions irradiated LAHCl·H2O and LAHBr·H2O single crystals

L-arginine hydrochloride monohydrate and L-arginine hydrobromide monohydrate single crystals are irradiated by 100 MeV Ag8+ swift heavy ions. The residual gases liberated from the irradiated samples are monitored as a function of ion fluence using quadrupole mass analyzer. The C2H3+, C2H2, N2, CO, HCl and CO2 are the dominant gases liberated. Fourier transform infrared spectra of irradiated crystals explain the breaking of bonds in a localized region of the crystals. The crystallinity of irradiated crystals is analyzed by powder X-ray diffractions.     

A rapid and simple route for the synthesis of lead and palladium nanoparticles in tetrazolium based ionic liquid

In the present work, we report a novel method for the synthesis of palladium and lead nanoparticles by the reduction method in tetrazolium ring based ionic liquid. Palladium and lead nanoparticles so-prepared were well characterized by powder X-ray diffraction measurements (pXRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and quasi elastic light scattering (QELS) techniques. Powder X-ray diffraction (pXRD) analysis revealed all relevant Bragg's reflection for crystal structure of palladium and lead. Powder X-ray diffraction plots also revealed no oxidized material of palladium and lead nanoparticles. TEM showed nearly uniform distribution of the particles in methanol and confirmed by QELS. Typical applications of palladium nanoparticles include in vitro use and sensor design applications. Palladium nanoparticles is also ideal for spin coating, self-assembly and monolayer formation. Palladium nanoparticles can also be considered as potential new catalysts.     

The Cauchy Problem for Non-linear Higher Order Hartree Type Equation in Modulation Spaces

Journal of Fourier Analysis and Applications - We study the Cauchy problem for Hartree equation with cubic convolution nonlinearity $$F(u) = (K \star |u|^{2k})u$$ under a specified condition on...